The Lucky Ones

The Lucky Ones was a great idea for a film. A road movie about three soldiers on leave, played my Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins and Michael Pena. When these three soldiers - who are initially strangers - end up on a plane together (and eventually a rental car due to the grounding of planes) they’re forced to spend time together, limping and driving across the country, battle scars everywhere. 

Directed by Neil Burger, known mostly for 2006’s decent enough The Illusionist, The Lucky Ones feels like the work of a filmmaker who has ended up far out of his league. He seems to make some good decisions here and there (the film is well cast and the concept is strong), but, for a $14 million dollar film with three great leads, The Lucky Ones is a major disappointment. For starters, cinematographer Declan Quinn (In America, Rachel Getting Married, Leaving Las Vegas, Monsoon Wedding, etc.) doesn’t give this film a $14 million dollar look. In fact, after a few scenes I got excited, thinking that this might be a true indie film with a tiny budget. It’s not. And, unless Burger paid his stars big bucks, I can’t figure out where the $14 million went - there’s nothing in this film that should’ve cost much more than a Joe Swanberg or Andrew Bujalski film.

And while that might seem like a petty complaint (seeing as how most movie watchers don’t analyze such things), let me also take this opportunity to point out how sad it is to see Burger, who also wrote the film, piss away a great story idea. Three unconnected modern day soldiers end up stuck in a car together, crossing the country? How can you mess that up?! Especially when you have McAdams, Robbins, Pena and Quinn on your team? Burger finds a way.

All that said, there are some enjoyable moments in this pedestrian piece of film art. Whenever the trio pass any sort of landmark or tourist trap, McAdams' character begs to stop, the other two denying her. They three all wake up at night with night terrors. We even get to see the endlessly soft-and-sweet McAdams start a fight at a college bar in southern Indiana where she’s eventually backed up by her new solider pals. It could’ve been a classic moment. Unfortunately, it’s not memorable and hardly believable, no matter how convincingly muscular McAdams' jaw and shoulders are. Robbins' and Pena's performances are strong throughout and McAdams’ face continues to be the best screen face of her time. But, aside from these minor points, The Lucky Ones is a disappointment. Soldiers are, by average, living the most storyteller-worthy lives of any Americans right now, and this is all Berger can come up with? A bar fight and night terrors? Needless to say, this isn't a very deep or thoughtful film.

And the use of music? Damn. Berger offers a selection of super obvious hipster picks mixed in with a score so cheesy that you have to doubt the vision of the director. F'real; it's that bad.

I could go on, but why bother. Burger, who with The Illusionist became a director to watch, has become, with The Lucky Ones, a director who is going to have to fight for jobs, stars and production budgets. The classic case of an overhyped auteur blowing their big break.   6/10

Written by G. William Locke